1
: a small hardy naturalized horse of U.S. western plains directly descended from horses brought in by the Spaniards
also
: bronc
2
slang
: a commissioned officer (as in the U.S. Navy) who has risen from the ranks
Examples of mustang in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Ocracoke is home to a herd of Wild Banker Horses that are the descendants of Spanish mustangs that ended up on the island after a shipwreck several hundred years ago.
—
Staff Author, Southern Living, 8 Jan. 2025
Federal officials are on the hunt for those responsible after a trio of wild mustangs were found shot dead in southwestern Utah.
—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 7 Jan. 2025
Several people who follow the plight of wild mustangs in Utah and across the west shared memories of the horses in the comments.
—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 7 Jan. 2025
Martin Bui blesses a mustang horse named Cedar for the blessing of the animals on the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi at Saint Nicholas Catholic Church in Laguna Woods on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024.
—Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register, 5 Oct. 2024
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Staff Author, Southern Living, 8 Jan. 2025
Federal officials are on the hunt for those responsible after a trio of wild mustangs were found shot dead in southwestern Utah.
—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 7 Jan. 2025
Several people who follow the plight of wild mustangs in Utah and across the west shared memories of the horses in the comments.
—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 7 Jan. 2025
Martin Bui blesses a mustang horse named Cedar for the blessing of the animals on the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi at Saint Nicholas Catholic Church in Laguna Woods on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024.
—Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register, 5 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mustang
Dictionary Entries Near mustang
Cite this Entry
“Mustang.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mustang. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mustang
noun
mus·tang
ˈməs-ˌtaŋ 
1
: a small hardy wild horse of the western plains of the U.S. that is directly descended from horses brought in by the Spaniards
2
Etymology
from American Spanish mestengo "a wild or stray horse," from Spanish mestengo "a stray animal," derived from mesta "an annual roundup of stray cattle," from Latin (animalia) mixta "mixed animals"
Word Origin
Many American cowboy practices can be traced back to those of northern Mexico. One such practice is a yearly roundup of unbranded or stray cattle. Centuries ago in Spain, cattle without owners were rounded up each year and sold. The Spanish word for this roundup was mesta, which came from a Latin phrase that meant "mixed animals." From mesta, the Spanish created the word mestengo, meaning "a wild or stray animal." In the form of Spanish spoken in Mexico, mestengo came to be used for wild or stray horses. As these horses became common in the western plains of the U.S., English borrowed the Mexican Spanish word mestengo as mustang.
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